U.S. Credit Card Market Share by Network & Issuer – Facts & Statistics

When you think of popular credit card networks, Visa and Mastercard probably come to mind first. But are there other major companies that dominate the credit card market? What are the most popular credit card issuers? Are Americans choosing general-purpose cards that can be used at a variety of retailers, or gravitating towards retail cards that can only be used at specific stores?

There’s an 82% chance you have at least 1 credit card, per the Federal Reserve,¹ and according to Experian,² the average American has 3.84 cards. This means that you have a lot of options when it comes to which types of cards you open, how many you have, and how much you decide to spend on each card. Read on to find out which types of cards are the most popular.

6 Quick Credit Card Market Share Facts

1. As of the end of 2022, there were 548 million open credit card accounts (based on cards issued by the 4 major networks – Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover). This is up 12% since 2021.³
2. At the end of 2022, Visa had nearly 50% of all credit cards in circulation in the U.S.⁵
3. Visa was the leader in market share for the first 3 quarters of 2022, at 52.22%.⁶
4. 2022 saw an increase in purchase volume compared to 2021 across all networks and issuers.⁶
5. The top 10 card issuers in the U.S. held nearly 88% of outstanding credit card balances in 2021.⁶
6. Chase had the largest credit card market share of any issuer in 2022 when measured by both outstanding balance and purchase volume.⁶

Major Credit Card Networks in the U.S.

A credit card network sets the terms for credit card transactions, authorizes them, and processes them. The credit card market in the U.S. has primarily 4 major players: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. These differ primarily in terms of global acceptance and perks, but also by market share.

Networks by Purchase Volume

In terms of purchasing volume, Visa is the clear leader with more than $2.09 trillion through the first 3 quarters of 2022 (up from $2 trillion for the entirety of 2021). Mastercard is the second-closest competitor with $967 billion. American Express and Discover round out the networks at $793 billion and $154 billion, respectively.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact across the board. People spent less money overall in 2020 compared to 2019, but purchase volume saw an increase in 2021. This increase in volume continued in 2022.

Networks by Percent of Purchase Volume

Visa is the clear frontrunner in terms of purchase volume in 2022. The same can be said over the past 5 years as well — with Visa always maintaining at least 40% of the market share among the 4 major networks. Visa’s dominance did drop from around 50% in 2021 to only 41.7% in 2022 – its lowest market share in over 5 years.

Mastercard had been consistent at around 22% of the market share across the past 5 years but increased in 2022 to 27.41%. American Express’s market share is currently 10.17%. Discover, while the smallest in terms of the major networks, currently holds 7.13% of the market share over the past 5 years. There are a few other smaller networks that round out the remaining market share.

Number of Cards in Circulation

So who holds the top spot for the number of credit cards in circulation in the U.S.?

Visa comes in at the top, at 57.5% of all cards in circulation globally in 2022. People appear to be gradually moving towards Mastercard as its share has steadily increased over the years and it currently holds 37.5% of the cards in circulation in 2022. American Express and Discover remain fairly consistent by percentage over this same time period at around 1% to 2%.

Major Credit Card Issuers in the U.S.

Credit card issuers, such as banks, retailers, or credit unions, issue credit cards to consumers. There are a lot of credit card issuers, but still only a handful with the largest piece of the market. Thus, we’ve limited our data to the top 15.

We’ve included both general-purpose and store card issuers. For example, issuers such as Synchrony Financial, Citi Retail Services, and Alliance Data Systems all issue store cards for businesses such as Old Navy, Sam’s Club, and more.

Issuers by Percent of Outstanding Balances

Outstanding balance shows how much much of your credit limit you have available — and the card issuer sets credit limits. This data factors in both people who pay off their balance on their cards each month as well as people who are carrying a balance on their cards.

What does an outstanding balance include?

• Purchases
• Cash advances
• Balance transfers
• Interest charges
• Other fees

Chase was the largest issuer in terms of outstanding balances in 2021 at $154.30 billion. Citibank, Bank of America, Capital One, and U.S. Bank round out the top 5. There are a lot more than 15 card issuers, but when you combine the outstanding balances from the remaining issuers, it all adds up to less than any of the top 5 issuers.

Major Issuers by Purchase Volume

While all issuers saw a drop in purchasing volume in 2020, purchase volume in both 2021 and 2022 increased. American Express and Chase saw the biggest jump in numbers from the pandemic to the present.

Chase and American Express were 2022’s top issuers in terms of market share by purchase volume, both with a volume of about $1 trillion to $1.14 trillion. In fact, these 2 issuers were the top 2 over the past 5 years as well.

Citibank, Bank of America, and Capital One made up the second tier of issuers, hovering in the $500 billion range. The remaining 3 banks in the last tier include U.S. Bank, Discover, and Wells Fargo in the $170 to $210 billion range.

Final Thoughts

While Americans may have spent less on their credit cards in 2020 compared to prior years, this has steadily increased since then. There is no doubt that credit cards are still the dominant way to pay for purchases. Overall, the differences between cards, including things like global acceptance, perks, and rewards, lead to variations in market share between these networks and issuers.

And when it comes to market share in the credit card market, there are definitely a few key players — both by network and issuer. Visa and Mastercard have reigned supreme on the network side, while general-purpose cards from Chase, Citi, and Bank of America make up the biggest chunk on the card issuer side.

¹ The Federal Reserve. (May 2023). Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2023 – May 2023. https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2023-economic-well-being-of-us-households-in-2022-executive-summary.htm

² Lembo Stolba, S. (2021, April 8). What Is the Average Number of Credit Cards per US Consumer? Experian. https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/average-number-of-credit-cards-a-person-has/

³ Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. (October 2023) The Consumer Credit Card Market. https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_consumer-credit-card-market-report_2023.pdf

⁴ The New York Fed. (August 2023) Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit 2023:Q3. https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/interactives/householdcredit/data/pdf/HHDC_2023Q2

⁵ Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover 2021 SEC Filings

⁶ Nilson Report. (February 2022). https://nilsonreport.com/publication_newsletter_archive_issue.php?issue=1213